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Many intermediaries in the labor market make use of a backoffice service. As a result, these intermediaries do not need their own payroll administration, backoffice, software and specialist knowledge of legislation and regulations. An intermediary uses backoffice services by placing their employees on the payroll of the backoffice service provider.
In this way, the backoffice service provider becomes the legal employer and the client becomes the material employer.
If you want to employ a non-EU professional as a highly skilled migrants, you will need a recognized sponsorship granted by the IND (Immigration and Naturalization Service). All About Expats as your knowledge partner can help with this process and can send in the application on behalf of your company.
Without a recognized sponsorship it is not possible to employ highly skilled migrants or employees who are at the end of their orientation year. Employing non-EU employees without a recognized sponsorship is illegal and a highly skilled migrant that gets employed runs the risk of getting his or her residence permit withdrawn resulting in a residence gap.
Employers who are recognized sponsors are the only ones permitted to hire highly skilled migrants. The process of becoming a recognized sponsor is hard and costly as it can require a significant amount of time and effort. All About expats is an expert in this field and has experience with the handling of the application for the sponsorship.
Would you like your own company to become an IND recognized sponsor? We can help!
All About Expat is adept at handling the application process to become a recognized sponsor. Simultaneously, since the waiting period for the decision can take up to 6 to 9 months you can make use of our payrolling service so can hire highly skilled migrants to start working without having to wait until the recognized sponsorship for your company is granted.
With our immigration service for highly skilled migrants, we completely take over the immigration procedure. We arrange the permit application with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (‘IND’) on your behalf as legal employer and recognized sponsor of your own employees. We take over all the hassle regarding all relevant legal matters and settling in of your new employee as a highly skilled expat.
By using our services, a comprehensive immigration service for expats will be included. Making use of our service allows both the highly skilled migrant and you as an employer to rest easy while we take care of all the immigration matters including arranging permits for your employee and, if needed, their family members that they wish to bring along.
What is included:
- Taking over the immigration procedure for highly skilled migrants and the handling of the permit application.
Taking over the immigration procedure for family members of the employee and the handling of the permit application(s) (if applicable).
- Knowledge partner for consultancy about all relevant IND matters.
- Arranging municipal registrations.
- Support to the highly skilled migrant with opening a bank account.
Support to the highly skilled migrant with applying for an orientation year highly educated people.
The highly skilled migrant scheme can be complex and each permit application is different. As an employer, you would like to have advice from a knowledge partner so that you are well prepared to conduct negotiations with a potential candidate before making them a job offer as well as when renewing or adjusting an employment agreement.
By default, our consultancy is included in our immigration service because we believe in lasting partnerships. You can easily contact us for consulting questions on immigration and employer-related issues, we are happy to assist.
In order to become a highly skilled migrant you need to:
- Have skills and experience that are relatively scarce in the Netherlands;
- Have a higher educational level (Bachelor minimum);
- Have a specialization (for example in IT, engineering or science);
- Meet the minimum monthly income requirements for highly skilled migrants.
The Netherlands cares greatly to give highly skilled students the opportunity and time they need to find a job within our country after completing their studies.
The orientation year permit allows recent graduates from non-EU countries and scientific researchers to stay in or come to the Netherlands for a period of up to twelve months.
During this one-year period, the graduate can work in any type of job. An application for work as a highly skilled migrant should be submitted before the end of the year if they wish to continue living and working in the Netherlands.
Conditions for an orientation year permit
There a few requirements needed for you to be able to obtain an orientation year permit.
These are:
- You completed your bachelor’s degree, master’s or PhD study at a Dutch university.
or
- You completed your bachelor’s degree, master’s or PhD study at a designated foreign educational institution*.
and
- You applied within three years of completing your studies.
*These are the educational institutions that, at the time of graduation or PhD, are included in the top 200 of the world rankings or in the top 200 of the available rankings per discipline – which correspond to the discipline in which you graduated or obtained your PhD – from.
The IND uses the below world rankings for this purpose:
- Higher earnings
- With retention of highly skilled migrant permit
- With retention of 30% facility
- Responsible for your assignments
- No Chamber of Commerce (KVK) registration required
- No accounting
- Insured for employee insurances
- Retirement
- Accident insurance
- Collective health insurance
- Liability insurance
- Extensive network of intermediaries for finding new assignments
In order to become a freelancer through the highly skilled migrant route (this is what we recommend), you must meet the conditions:
- you have a valid highly skilled migrant visa
- you have a employment contract with an employer who is a recognized sponsor
- your agreed wage is in line with the market and meets the salary criteria of the IND
- you have or you can realize your own assignments as a self-employed person
However, by choosing a residence permit as an independent entrepreneur as an alternative route, you will need to meet very strict conditions that are very complex, time-consuming and above all uncertain. Additionally, you can no longer continue the 30% facility. To learn more about freelancing and start up visas please visit our Knowledge Centre
You must meet these conditions to be eligible for the 30% facility:
- You were recruited or transferred from abroad and you have lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for more than 16 months out of a total of 24 months prior to working in the Netherlands.
- You work for a company that is based in the Netherlands.
- You have a specific expertise, this is when an employee’s annually income is above the yearly minimum threshold set by the tax authorities.
- You and your employer have a written agreement that the 30% facility applies to your circumstance.
When do I have a specific expertise in 2022?
Regular
You have that expertise if your salary, not including the tax-free allowance in the Netherlands, is more than: € 39,467 in 2022.
You are younger than 30, and you have a Dutch academic master’s degree
Or have you obtained an equivalent title in another country? Then you have a specific expertise if your salary, not including the tax-free allowance in the Netherlands, is more than: € 30,001 in 2022.
Do you conduct scientific research?
And do you conduct that research at a designated research facility? Or are you a doctor training to be a specialist? In that case, you can always make use of the 30% facility. The amount of your salary is not important.
The Dutch Balanced Labor Market Act (WAB) ensures that you as the employee also benefit from working through a payroll agreement. A payroll employee has exactly the same legal position as the employees who are employed by the hiring company themselves.
You are, among other things, entitled to the same contract types and terms of employment. This means, for example, that as a payroll employee you can be deployed for a maximum of 3 years on the basis of fixed time employment agreements. Do colleagues who are directly on the client’s payroll receive bonuses or extra vacation days? Then you are also entitled to these rewards and employment conditions.
- You are recruited as a highly skilled migrant by the hiring company.
- You agree with the hiring company on the terms and conditions for your employment (salary, scope of work, etc.).
- You will receive your work instructions from the hiring company.
- All About Expats becomes your legal employer.
- All About Expats pays your wages and the mandatory employer’s contributions.
Yes and no.
An umbrella company is a term mostly used by recruiters and freelancers in the United Kingdom. An umbrella company serves as an ‘employer’ to contractors by providing the intermediary services between a recruitment agency or end client and the contractor who will be conducting the work. The umbrella company provides payrolling and invoicing services to freelancers.
What makes All About Expats different?
For highly skilled migrants All About Expats doesn’t offer umbrella services. Although All About Expats offers similar services it is technically not an umbrella company. Umbrella services are companies that in almost all cases act as an intermediary that mainly regulates the invoicing and compensation of billable hours. In the Netherlands this service is called Freelance Payroll. By default, the wage payment obligation is excluded here, which means that if no hours are invoiced, no salary payment will take place.
All About Expats is of the opinion that the regulations concerning highly skilled migrants and the services offered by traditional Umbrella Companies do not go together. Excluding the obligation to continue paying wages jeopardizes a current residence permit and will stand in the way of the application for a new residence permit. After all, there is a wage standard that must at least be achieved during the term of the employment contract.
All About Expats only works on the basis of fixed term agreements where wages are guaranteed during an assignment. This means that during the hiring assignment in the event of illness, public holidays and regular holidays, at least the standard wage will be paid on. With an umbrella company there is a risk that these hours will not be continued or paid at a lower value. This can have negative consequences for the right of residence of a highly skilled migrant and for the 30% ruling.
Learn more about umbrella services and the services we offer.
Did you come to work in the Netherlands as a highly skilled migrant? And do you want to bring your partner and children to the Netherlands?
Your partner and children are allowed to stay in the Netherlands on the basis of a permit to stay with a family member.
We can help your family with a successful immigration to the Netherlands by taking care of the permit application(s) and collection collecting the required documents needed for a smooth process.
Is your (future) employer not a recognized sponsor of the IND? Then you cannot work for this employer directly. You run the risk of withdrawal of your residence permit, whether or not accompanied by a residence gap.
Your employer must be a recognized sponsor to hire you, for this they can file an application at the IND. Luckily, our payrolling service can provide a solution during the application time.
We can help you with a successful immigration to the Netherlands by:
- Giving advice about the highly skilled migrant scheme;
- Arranging everything related to your immigration and (if applicable) and that of your family members;
- Offering step-by-step guidance with the admission and residence), and (if needed) the MVV (Provisional Residence Permit) application;
- Providing assistance with the legalization of required deeds;
- Making appointments at the embassies for the MVV collection;
- Making agreements with municipalities for registration;
- Arranging the application for the 30% facility;
- Offering (temporary) payroll services in the event that your (future) employer is not (yet) a recognized sponsor of the IND.
As of January 1, 2019, the maximum term of the 30% ruling is five years, rather than eight years. The Government has chosen to incorporate a two-year transition period for employees affected by this cut.
The highly skilled migrant must meet these conditions to be eligible for the 30% facility:
- The employee was recruited or transferred by your company from abroad and he or she has lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for more than 16 months out of a total of 24 months prior to working in the Netherlands.
- The employee must work for a company that is based in the Netherlands.
- The employee must have a specific expertise, this is when an employee’s annually income is above the yearly minimum threshold set by the tax authorities.
- The employee and the employer have written agreement that the 30% facility applies to the circumstance.
When does an employee have a specific expertise in 2022?
Regular
The employee has expertise if the salary, not including the tax-free allowance in the Netherlands, is more than: € 39,467 in 2022.
The employee is younger than 30, and has a Dutch academic master’s degree.
Or the employee has obtained an equivalent title in another country? Then the employee has a specific expertise if the salary, not including the tax-free allowance in the Netherlands, is more than: € 30,001 in 2022.
The employee conducted scientific research.
The employee conducted research at a designated research facility. Or has a doctor training to be a specialist. In that case, the employee can always make use of the 30% facility. The amount of the salary is not important.
A Payroll agreement is basically an employment agreement. Unlike a regular employment agreement, the details of the hiring company are included in the contract.
This guarantees that you have the same employment conditions as employees directly in paid employment at your hiring company and lets you work exclusively for this hiring company.
Organizations that want to hire non-EU employees find out that the employment, immigration, HR and payroll administration are time consuming. With payrolling, the hassle that comes with hiring a highly skilled migrant can all be outsourced. As the material employer you remain responsible for the daily guidance and supervision of the employee. We will take care of the rest.
Outsourcing of all relevant complex and time-consuming work and procedures.
- Expedited processing of permit applications.
- Trusted business with a knowledgeable partner.
- No costs for applying for an IND recognized sponsorship.
- Being able to quickly use the services of a highly skilled migrant.
- You and the knowledge migrant can use the knowledge and expertise of our Expat desk for all questions related to employment or immigration.
- Timely and correct monthly payment of your highly skilled migrants.
- A monthly invoice with all costs transparent.
With payrolling a hiring company outsources the employment to a payrolling company. In this construction the payroll company becomes the legal employer and the hiring company the material employer.
The payroll company seconds the employee exclusively to the hiring company, where the daily guidance and supervision is given by them. Therefore, it seems like you are employed by the hiring company themselves.
Being a recognized sponsor comes with obligations including, but not limited to, conducting a careful recruitment & selection process and timely notification of changes. The IND expects all current recognized sponsors to comply with these regulations. If you do not comply, you risk losing the sponsorship and the permits of your highly skilled migrants. In broad terms, these obligations consist of:
- Providing highly skilled migrants with information about admission and residence
- Keeping and retaining records
- Duty of care
- Repatriation of the foreign national
- Checking regularly for upholding the obligations
As a recognized sponsors of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (‘IND’) a company is allowed to hire highly skilled migrants. In addition, the IND uses a shorter decision period for permit applications submitted by a recognized sponsor. The process of becoming a recognized sponsor is complicated, costly and takes a significant amount of time and effort.
Fortunately, All About Expats is an expert in the expat field and is a recognized IND sponsor. Every year, many intermediaries and recruitment agencies use our services to hire knowledge migrants. This means they no longer need to be concerned about being an IND sponsor or any of the associated obligations and administrative duties. They can already start working with their hired highly skilled migrants immediately while we take care of the administrative matters.
All companies that are recognized sponsors of the IND are included in the Public Register Recognized Sponsors. The public register can be found here: https://ind.nl/en/public-register-recognised-sponsors
All About Expat is adept at handling the application process to become a recognized sponsor. We advise companies on the feasibility of obtaining the sponsorship based on the information you have available as a company. In addition, we can take care of the entire application on your behalf. Also we can take over your immigration process with sending in your highly skilled migrant applications to the IND with our Immigration Service for employers.
Non-EU students who have just graduated and have not yet found a job as a highly skilled migrant can use an orientation year permit. During the year in which this is valid, they are free to work for any employer in the Netherlands, you do not yet have to be a recognized sponsor. An additional advantage for you as an employer is that a reduced salary criterion applies for this specific group of highly skilled migrants.
If you wish to continue employing this employee, you should apply for a highly skilled migrant permit for the employee before the orientation year permit expires. This is only possible if you are an IND approved sponsor when you submit the application.
You are not (yet) an IND recognized sponsor? We can support you (possibly on a temporary basis) by fulfilling the role of recognized sponsor on your behalf based on our payroll construction.
The Netherlands has a scheme specifically for highly skilled migrant. The scheme makes it easier and faster for companies to bring in highly skilled migrants from outside the Euro zone.
In a nutshell the highly skilled migrant scheme facilitates the admission requirements and time for highly skilled migrants and their employers. Not every company can make use of the highly skilled migrant scheme, and not every migrant from outside the EU is eligible either. There are various conditions for the employer and requirements for the highly skilled migrant.
The conditions for this scheme are:
The employer is a recognized sponsor of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND).
- The highly skilled migrant has a signed employment contract with a minimum of three months with a Dutch employer.
- The employer pays at least the minimum wage for a highly skilled migrant.
- The highly skilled migrant must be paid with market-level wages.
The highly skilled migrant has a valid passport, a Dutch healthcare insurance policy, and does not pose a threat to the national security.
Income norm for hiring a highly skilled migrant
One of the requirements for hiring a highly skilled migrant is an income norm. These are gross monthly salaries and vary by category. For 2022, the minimum for highly skilled migrant has been set at:
| Age/Category | Salary * |
|---|---|
| Reduced salary criterion | € 2,543 |
| Under 30 years of age | € 3,549 |
| 30 years of age or older | € 4,840 |
* Excl. 8% holiday allowance
The conditions for this scheme are:
- If you have skills and experience that are relatively scarce in the Netherlands;
- If you have a higher educational level (Bachelor minimum);
- If you have a specialization (for example in IT, engineering or science).
The municipality is the local government of a place. Depending on where you live, you fall under the municipality of Amsterdam or Amstelveen. It is necessary to register with the municipality in order to keep the right of your residence permit. When you have registered at the town hall, you will receive your BSN number within a few weeks (both Amsterdam and Amstelveen municipalities are present during the Arrival Days and you can register then as well).
A BSN number is a social security number needed to arrange all sorts of practical matters such as opening a Dutch bank account. Students often mistake the BSN number for their residence permit, and the municipality for the Dutch Immigration Service (IND). However, these are two separate institutions. The IND handles immigration matters and the municipality arranges the registrations in the town hall. You do not receive your BSN number when you have picked your residence permit at the Dutch Immigration Service (IND), but once you have registered with the municipality. So the IND and the municipality are not related. Please also note that it does not matter in which sequence you complete these practicalities; that is, you do not need a BSN number to collect your residence permit nor do you need to have your residence permit already in order to register with the municipality.
AÂ Regular Provisional residence permit (MVV)Â is used to enter the Netherlands
and a residence permit is a document that gives you the right to stay here legally.
Meer informatie over een residence permit (MVV)
